CURRICULUM VITAE B. Alan Wallace Santa Barbara Institute for ...

CURRICULUM VITAE
B. Alan Wallace
Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies
P. O. Box 3573
Santa Barbara, CA 93130
U.S.A.
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Stanford University, Department of Religious Studies, 1995
M.A. Stanford University, Department of Religious Studies, 1992
B.A.
Amherst College (Physics, Philosophy of Science, and Sanskrit), summa cum
laude, 1987
ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT
Director and Chairman – Phuket International Academy Mind Centre, 2010 - present
President - Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, 2003 – present
Teaching Positions
Lecturer - Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa
Barbara, 1997-2001
Lecturer – University of California, Los Angeles, Extension, 1997
Visiting Scholar - Psychology Department, Stanford University, 1996-1997
Visiting Scholar - Religious Studies Department, Stanford University, 1995-1996
Lecturer – Stanford University, Innovative Academic Courses Program, 1992
Teaching Intern - Department of Religious Studies, Stanford University, 1991
Teaching Assistant - Religious Studies Department, Stanford University, 1990-
1994
Lecturer - Amherst College, Inter-term, 1987

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Lecturer - Amherst College, American Institute of Buddhist Studies, Amherst,
1984-1986
Lecturer - Centre for Higher Tibetan Studies, Mt. Pèlerin, Switzerland, 1977-1979
Lecturer - Tibet Institute, Rikon, Switzerland, 1975-1977
Research and Consulting Positions
Co-principal Researcher - A longitudinal, scientific study of the effects of
attentional training. In collaboration with the scientific team at the University of
California, Davis, Center for Mind and Brain, the Department of Psychology, and
the Imaging Research Center, 2003 - present
Co-researcher - “Cultivating Emotional Balance” (CEB) project. In collaboration
with cognitive scientist at the University of California, San Francisco and Santa
Barbara Institute, 2003- present
Consultant - The research project “Cultivating Emotional Balance in the
Classroom: CEBC). In collaboration with cognitive scientists at San Francisco State
University, the University of California, San Francisco, and the Santa Barbara
Institute for Consciousness Studies, 2005 – 2008
Consultant - The Mindful Awareness Project (MAP), a research for developing
training for the prevention and treatment of ADHD. In collaboration with
geneticists at the University of California, Lost Angeles, School of Medicine, 2004
– 2007
Consultant - The Attention Training (MAT) for Epilepsy. In collaboration with the
Reed Neurologic Research Center at University of California, Lost Angeles, and
the Medical University of Vienna, 2005 - 2006
Consultant and interpreter – The research project on traditional Tibetan medical
treatment of breast cancer, University of California, San Francisco and California
Pacific Medical Center, 1995-98
Researcher - “Training the Mind” project in psychological and neuroscientific
studies of attention and compassion among advanced Tibetan contemplatives in
northern India, 1990-1992
Project Director - Mind and Life Research Network, 1991 – 1993

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PUBLICATIONS
Authored Books
Books on Buddhism and Science
Mind in the Balance: Meditation in Science, Buddhism, and Christianity. New York:
Columbia University Press, 2009 (Also published in Portuguese, Italian, Spanish,
Dutch, and Tibetan translations) – It has been nominated for the 2011 Louisville
Grawemeyer Award in Religion
Embracing Mind: The Common Ground of Science and Spirituality. Co-authored with
Brian Hodel. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2008 (Also published in Dutch and
Spanish translations)
Hidden Dimensions: The Unification of Physics and Consciousness. New York:
Columbia University Press, 2007 (Also published in Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, and
Tibetan translations)
Contemplative Science: Where Buddhism and Neuroscience Converge. New York:
Columbia University Press, 2007 (Also published in Portuguese, Korean, and Thai
translations)
Buddhism and Science: Breaking New Ground. Edited by B. Alan Wallace. New York:
Columbia University Press, 2003
The Taboo of Subjectivity: Toward a New Science of Consciousness. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2000
Consciousness at the Crossroads: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Brain-science
and Buddhism. Edited by B. Alan Wallace, Zara Houshmand & David Livingston.
Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1999 (Also published in Dutch, Portuguese, Korean, Spanish,
French, Chinese, Italian translations)
Choosing Reality: A Buddhist View of Physics and the Mind. Revised edition. Ithaca:
Snow Lion Publications, 1996. Re-edition of Choosing Reality: A Contemplative
View of Physics and the Mind. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1989 (Also
published in French and Korean translations)
Books on Tibetan Buddhism
The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind. Forward by Daniel
Goleman. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2006 (Also published in Complex
Chinese, Catalan, Italian, German, Indonesian, Portuguese, Romanian, Chinese,
Spanish, and Mongolian translations)

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Genuine Happiness: Meditation as a Path to Fulfillment. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley &
Sons, 2005 (Also published in Spanish and Russian translations)
Buddhism with an Attitude: The Tibetan Seven-Point Mind-Training. Ithaca, NY: Snow
Lion Publications, 2001 (Also published in Dutch, Italian, Finnish, Spanish,
Portuguese, and Korean translations)
The Four Immeasurables: Practices to Open the Heart. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion
Publications, 2010. Re-edition of The Four Immeasurables: Cultivating a
Boundless Heart, 2004; re-edition of Boundless Heart: The Four Immeasurables,
1999 (Also published in Italian, French, and Dutch translations)
Balancing the Mind: A Tibetan Buddhist Approach to Refining Attention. Ithaca, NY:
Snow Lion Publications, 2005. New edition of The Bridge of Quiescence:
Experiencing Tibetan Buddhist Meditation. Chicago: Open Court Press, 1998
Tibetan Buddhism From the Ground Up. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1993 (Also
published in Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, and Korean translations)
The Seven-Point Mind Training. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2004. Re-edition
of A Passage from Solitude: A Modern Commentary on Tibetan Buddhist Mind
Training. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1992 (Also published in Italian
translation)
Tibetan Tradition of Mental Development. Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. Sherpa Tulku,
trans. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, 1974, 1976, 1978; rev.
eds. 1985 & 1992 (Also published in Italian translation)
Spoken Tibetan. Co-authored with Kerrith McKenzie. Mt. Pèlerin, Switzerland: Center
for Higher Tibetan Studies, 1985
Translated Books from Tibetan
The New Physics and Cosmology: Dialogues with the Dalai Lama. Edited by Arthur
Zajonc. Co-translated with Geshe Thupten Jinpa. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2004
The Vajra Essence: From the Matrix of Primordial Consciousness and Pure
Appearances, a Tantra on the Self-arisen Nature of Existence. Düdjom Lingpa.
Ashland: Mirror of Wisdom Publications, 2004
The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Volume III. Cotranslator.
Tsong-kha-pa, Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2003

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Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Edited by Daniel
Goleman, co-translated with Geshe Thupten Jinpa. New York: Bantam Doubleday,
2002
Realizing Emptiness: Madhyamaka Insight Meditation. Gen Lamrimpa. Ithaca, NY:
Snow Lion Publications, 2002. Re-edition of the Realizing Emptiness: The
Madhyamaka Cultivation of Insight. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1999
(Also published in Vietnamese translation)
Meditation, Transformation, and Dream Yoga. Gyatrul Rinpoche. Co-translated with
Sangye Khandro. Snow Lion Publications, 2002. Re-edition of the Ancient
Wisdom: Nyingma Teachings of Dream Yoga, Meditation and Transformation.
Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1993 (Also published in Italian, Russian, French,
Korean translations)
Naked Awareness: Practical Teachings on the Union of Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen.
Karma Chagmé, with commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche. Ithaca: Snow Lion
Publications, 2000
Healing from the Source: The Science and Lore of Tibetan Medicine. Dr. Yeshi Dhonden.
Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2000 (Also published in French, Dutch, and Polish
translations)
Transcending Time: The Kālacakra Six-Session Guruyoga. Gen Lamrimpa. Boston:
Wisdom Publications, 1999
A Spacious Path to Freedom: Practical Instructions on the Union of Mahāmudrā and
Atiyoga. Karma Chagmé, with commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche. Ithaca: Snow
Lion Publications, 1998, 2009 (Also published in Chinese translation)
Natural Liberation: Padmasambhava’s Teachings on the Six Bardos. Padmasambhava,
with commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1998, 2008
(Also published in Russian, Chinese, and French translations)
A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life: A translation from the Sanskrit and Tibetan of
Śāntideva’s Bodhicāryāvatāra. Co-translated with Vesna A. Wallace. Ithaca, NY:
Snow Lion Publications, 1997 (Also published in Thai, Spanish, Polish, and
Indonesian translations)
Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying: An Exploration of Consciousness with the Dalai Lama.
Edited by Francisco J. Varela, co-translated with Geshe Thupten Jinpa. Boston:
Wisdom Publications, 1997 (Also published in Dutch and Russian translations)
Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and
Health. Edited by Daniel Goleman, co-translated with Geshe Thupten Jinpa.
Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997

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Calming the Mind: Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on the Cultivation of Meditative
Quiescence. Gen Lamrimpa. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1995. Re-edition of
the Shamatha Meditation: Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on Cultivating Meditative
Quiescence. Snow Lion Publications, 1992 (Also published in Spanish and Italian
translations)
Worlds in Harmony: Dialogues on Compassionate Action. The Dalai Lama with Daniel
Goleman, Stephen Levine, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Daniel Brown, Jack Engler,
Margaret Brenman-Gibson and Joanna Macy. Co-translated with Geshe Thupten
Jinpa. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1992
Gentle Bridges: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on the Sciences of Mind. Francisco
Varela & Jeremy Hayward, ed. Co-translated with Geshe Thupten Jinpa. Boston:
Shambhala Publications, 1992; 2nd edition 2001
Transcendent Wisdom: A Commentary on the Ninth Chapter of Shantideva’s Guide to the
Bodhisattva Way of Life, H.H. the Dalai Lama. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications,
1988; 2nd edition, 1994 (Also published in Spanish, Dutch, French, Chinese, and
Italian translations)
The Kalachakra Tantra, Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan
Works and Archives, 1986
Health Through Balance: An Introduction to Tibetan Medicine. Dr. Yeshi Dhonden. Cotranslated
with Jeffrey Hopkins. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1986 (Also
published in Finnish, Croatian, Italian, French, Russian, Japanese, Hindi, Polish,
and German translations)
Commentary on ‘The Eight Verses on the Training of the Mind’ and Commentary on
‘The Song of the Four Mindfulnesses’, H. H. the XIV Dalai Lama. Four Essential
Buddhist Commentaries. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works & Archives,
1982
The Life and Teachings of Geshé Rabten. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1980.
Reprinted as The Life of a Tibetan Monk by Geshe Rabten. Le Mont-Pèlerin,
Switzerland: Edition Rabten, 2000
The Ambrosia Heart Tantra: A Classic Treatise on Tibetan Medicine. Annotated by Dr.
Yeshi Dhonden. Dharamsala, India: Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, 1976
Waterdrop from the Glorious Sea: A History of the Sakya Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
Sherab Gyaltsen Amipa. Rikon, Switzerland: Tibet Institute, 1976

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Book Chapters
“Buddhism and Science.” In The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Science. Edited by
Philip Clayton. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006
“Buddhist Training in Enhanced Attention Skills.” In Investigating the Mind: The Dalai
Lama at MIT. Edited by Arthur Zajonc & Anne Harrington. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press, 2006: 37-45
“Vacuum States of Consciousness: A Tibetan Buddhist View.” In Buddhist Thought and
Applied Psychology: Transcending the Boundaries. Edited by D.K. Nauriyal.
London: Routledge-Curzon, 2006
“The Scientific Frontier of the Inner Spirit.” In Spiritual Information: 100
Perspectives. Edited by Charles L. Harper, Jr. West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton
Foundation Press, 2005
“The Intersubjective Worlds of Science and Religion.” In Science, Religion, and the
Human Experience. Edited by James Proctor. New York: Oxford University Press,
2005
“The Spectrum of Buddhist Practice in the West.” In Westward Dharma: Buddhism
Beyond Asia. Edited by Charles Prebish & Martin Baumann. Berkeley: University
of California Press, 2002
“Four Applications of Mindfulness.” In American Spiritualities: A Reader. Edited by
Catherine L. Albanese, ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001
“Three Dimensions of Buddhist Studies.” In Buddhist Theology: Critical Reflections of
Contemporary Buddhist Scholars. Edited by John Makransky & Roger Jackson.
London: Curzon Press. 1999
“The Dialectic Between Religious Belief and Contemplative Knowledge in Tibetan
Buddhism.” In Buddhist Theology: Critical Reflections of Contemporary Buddhist
Scholars. Edited by John Makransky & Roger Jackson. London: Curzon Press.
1999
“Training the attention and exploring consciousness in Tibetan Buddhism.” In Toward a
Science of Consciousness III: The Third Tucson Discussions and Debates. Edited
by Stuart Hameroff, Al Kaszniak, & David Chalmers. Cambridge, MIT Press,
1999
Journal Articles

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“Intensive meditation training leads to improvements in perceptual discrimination and
sustained attention.” Katherine A. MacLean, Emilio Ferrer, Stephen R. Aichele,
David A. Bridwell, Anthony P. Zanesco, Tonya L. Jacobs, Brandon G. King,
Erika L. Rosenberg, Baljinder K. Sahdra, Phillip R. Shaver, B. Alan Wallace,
George R. Mangun and Clifford D. Saron. Psychological Science, 21 (6) 2010:
829-839 Online version:
http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/05/11/0956797610371339
“Mental Balance and Well-Being: Building Bridges between Buddhism and Western
Psychology.” Co-authored with Shauna Shapiro. In American Psychologist,
October 2006, Vol. l61, No. 7: 690-701
“Choice of Perspectives: Science limited in explanations ” In Science & Theology,
January 2006
“Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being.” Co-authored
with Paul Ekman, Richard J. Davidson, and Matthieu Ricard. In Current
Directions in Psychology, 2005, Vol. 14, No. 2: 59-63
“The Scientific and Contemplative Exploration of Consciousness.” In Leonardo
Electronic Almanac, 2003
“A Science of Consciousness: Buddhism (1), the Modern West (0).” In The Pacific
World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies. Third series, Number 4, Fall
2002: 15-31
“The Scientific Frontier of the Inner Spirit.” Network: The Scientific and Medical
Network Review, December 2002, No. 80: 18-19
“Intersubjectivity in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism.” In Journal of Consciousness Studies, 8,
No. 5-7, 2001: 209-30
“The Potential of Emptiness: Vacuum States in Physics and Consciousness.” Network:
The Scientific and Medical Network Review, December 2001, No. 77: 21-25
“The Buddhist Tradition of Śamatha: Methods for Refining and Examining
Consciousness.” Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6, No. 2-3, 1999: 175-187.
Also published in The View from Within: First-person Methods in the Study of
Consciousness. London: Imprint Academic, 1999
“Training the attention and exploring consciousness in Tibetan Buddhism.”
Consciousness Studies Bulletin, Fall, 1998
“The Self and the Limits of Reason in the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Tradition.” The Tibet
Journal, Autumn Vol. XV, No. 3: 59-68, 1990

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Magazine Articles
“Distorted Visions of Buddhism: Agnostic and Atheist” In Mandala: A Tibetan Buddhist
Journal, October/November, 2010, Online version:
2009http://www.mandalamagazine.org/archives/mandala-issues-for-
2010/october/distorted-visions-of-buddhism-agnostic-and-atheist/
“Shamatha in the Indian Buddhist Tradition.” In Mandala: A Tibetan Buddhist Journal,
April, 2010: http://www.mandalamagazine.org/archives/mandala-issues-for-
2010/april/shamatha-in-the-indian-buddhist-tradition/
“Within You, Without You: Like a telescope launched into orbit beyond the distortions of
the earth’s atmosphere, shamatha meditation provides a platform for exploring the
deep space of the mind.” In Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Winter, 2009: 78 –
83, 119.
“Achieving Free Will: A Buddhist Perspective.” In Mandala: A Tibetan Buddhist
Journal, January/March 2009: pp. 55 – 58
“If You Meet Buddha in Salon.” In Opinions Section of Salon.com, December 9, 2006:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/12/09/buddha/index.html
“Materialism of the Gaps.” In Mandala: A Tibetan Buddhist Journal, December
2006/January 2007: pp. 8-10
“Religion and Reason: A Review of Sam Harris’s Letter to a Christian Nation.” In
Shambhala Sun, October/November 2006: 99-104
“Waking to the Dream.” In Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Winter 2006: 52-57
“Immaterial Evidence.” In Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Spring 2006: 84-86
“Energy Dynamics.” In Life Positive Plus, January 2006: 63-66
“What Is True Happiness” In Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Fall 2005: 68-73, 119
“Pure Dharma, Barefoot Dharma.” In Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly,
Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer 2004: 26-29
“Overlapping Worlds.” In Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Spring 2003: 58- 69
“Science & Buddhism: A Case for collaboration.” In Life Positive Plus, October –
December 2003: 34-37
“Refining the Attention: Focusing on What Matters, Moment by Moment.” In Spiritual &

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Health: The Soul/Body Connection, Summer issues, 2002: 30-33
“Emptiness on My Mind.” In Mandala: Buddhism in Our Time, June 2001: 25-27
WORK IN PRESS
Co-translated with Chandra Easton, The Vajra Quintessence: A Compilation of Three
Texts on the Great Perfection By Dudjom Lingpa and Dudjom Rinpoche, with
annotations by the Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche: Ashland, Oregon: Vimala
Publishing, 2011
Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic: A Contemplative Manifesto, New York: Columbia
University Press, 2011
Stilling the Mind: Shamatha Teachings from Dudjom Lingpa’s Vajra Essence, Boston:
Wisdom Publications, 2011
Minding Closely: The Four Applications of Mindfulness, Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion
Publications, 2011
“A Buddhist View of Free Will: Beyond Determinism and Indeterminism,” Journal of
Consciousness Studies, 2011
Baljinder K. Sahdra, Katherine A. MacLean, Emilio Ferrer, Phillip R. Shaver, Erika L.
Rosenberg, Tonya L. Jacobs, Anthony P. Zanesco, Brandon G. King, Stephen R.
Aichele, David A. Bridwell, George R. Mangun, Shiri Lavy, B. Alan Wallace,
and Clifford D. Saron, “Enhanced Response Inhibition During Intensive
Meditation Training Predicts Improvements in Self-Reported Adaptive Socio-
Emotional Functioning,” Emotion, 2010
Tonya L. Jacobs, Elissa S. Epel, Jue Lin, Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Owen M. Wolkowitz,
David A. Bridwell, Anthony P. Zanesco, Stephen R. Aichele, Baljinder K.
Sahdra, Katherine A. MacLean, Brandon G. King, Phillip R. Shaver, Erika L.
Rosenberg, Emilio Ferrer, B. Alan Wallace, and Clifford D. Saron, “Intensive
meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity Q1, and psychological
mediators,” Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2010

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AWARDS, HONORS, AND RESEARCH GRANTS
Book Award
Scientific and Medical Network 2001 Book Prize for The Taboo of Subjectivity: Toward
a New Science of Consciousness, 2001
Honor
Honorary Faculty Member Golden Key National Honors Society at the University of
California, Santa Barbara, May 1999
Research Grants
Research grant from the Khyentse Foundation to translate the principal commentary to
Dudjom Lingpa’s Buddhahood without Meditation, entitled “A Garland for the
Delight of the Fortunate: A Clear Elucidation of Words and their Meaning, An
Explication of the Oral Transmission of the Glorious Guru, As Notes on the
Nature of Reality, The Great Perfection,” 2010 – 2011
Research Grant from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
in support of Mechanisms of Meditation study, 2009 - 2011
Research Grants from the John E. Fetzer Institute, Hershey Family Foundation,
National Science Foundation, Social Science and Humanities Research Council of
Canada, Tan Teo Charitable Foundation, Peter Baumann Institute, and Mental
Insight Foundation in support of the Shamatha Project, 2006 – 2011
Research Grants from the Central Minnesota Community Foundation, the Gere
Foundation, Hershey Family Foundation, Tan Teo Charitable Foundation, Fidelity
Charitable Foundation, John E. Fetzer Institute, and the Vangaurd Charitable
Foundation in support of research hosted by the Santa Barbara Institute for
Consciousness Studies, 2003 – 2011
Research Grants from H.H. the Dalai Lama, the Mind and Life Institute, the John
E.Fetzer Institute, Hershey Family Foundation, Tan Teo Charitable Foundation,
Kluge Foundation, Impact Foundation, and the Peter Baumann Institute in support
of the Cultivating Emotional Balance Project, 2003 – 2009
John E. Fetzer Institute research grant for editing the book of essays on Buddhism and
Science: Breaking New Ground, 1999
Research grant for editing the book of essays on Buddhism and Science: Breaking New
Ground, Richard Gere Foundation 1999
Research grant for translating from Tibetan and editing the book Healing from the

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Source: The Science and Lore of Tibetan Medicine, Balm Foundation 1998-1999
John E. Fetzer Institute research grant for writing the book The Taboo of Subjectivity:
Toward a New Science of Consciousness, 1995-1996
Fellowships
Jacob K. Javits Fellowship (U. S. Dept. of Education) for pursuing the Ph.D. at Stanford
University, 1990-1994
George Stebbins Moses Memorial Fellowship from Amherst College for study at
Stanford University, 1989-1990
Phi beta kappa, Amherst College, 1987
Moseley Prize in Religion, Amherst College, 1986-1987
John Sumner Rennels Memorial Prize (for zeal in the pursuit of understanding), Amherst
College, 1985-1986
Bassett Prize in Physics, Amherst College, 1984-1985
PROFESSIONAL AND ACADEMIC MEMBERSHIPS
Member of Board of Directors - Phuket International Academy Day School, 2009 –
present
Member of the Board of Directors, Mind and Life Institute, 1990 – 2009; 2009 – present:
Emeritus Board Member and Senior Fellow
Member of the Advisory Council for the East-West Scholars Program in the Tenzin
Gyatso Institute, 2007 – present
Member of the Advisory Committee for the MIT Center for Ethics and Transformative
Values, 2007 – present
Co-chair of the Mysticism Group, American Academy of Religion, 2000-2001
Member of the Steering committee of the Mysticism Group, American Academy of
Religion, 1997-2001
Member of the American Academy of Religion, 1995-2001
SCHOLARLY PRESENTATIONS

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“Science, Spirituality, and Education from a Spiritual Perspective,” keynote lecture at the
International Conference on Science Spirituality, and Education, organized by the
Namgyal Institute of Tibetology under the auspices of the Government of Sikkim,
December 2010
“Buddhism: ‘Science of the Mind’ or Religion” at Collegium generale, University of
Bern, Switzerland, December 2010
“Buddhism and Science: What makes us human” keynote lecture at “World Buddhism
Conference on Buddhism and Sciences” at the College of Religious Studies,
Mahidol University, December 2010
“The Consciousness Universe: Where Physics and Buddhism Converge” in the
conference “The Role of Consciousness in Physics: Buddhist and Scientific Views,”
sponsored by the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences, Moscow,
Russia, September 2010
“Toward a Contemplative Science of Mind” at the Elista Medical College, Kalmykia,
Russia, September 2010
“Where Science Ends, Buddhism Begins” at Kalmyk Institute of Humanitarian Studies
and Scientific Research, Russia, September 2010
“What Makes Us Human A Buddhist View” at Kalmyk State University, Kalmykia,
Russia, September 2010
“Improving Inter-personal Relationships: Through Cultivating Emotional Awareness &
Mindful Attention,” Forum with Prof. Paul Ekman, sponsored by the National
University of Singapore, July 2010
“Experience, Reason, and Faith in Science and Religion: A Buddhist Perspective” at
annual conference of the Grand Dialogue in Science and Religion for the Greater
Grand Rapids Area, sponsored by Grand Valley State University, March 2010
“Toward a Three-Dimensional Science of the Mind” at the “Science and Buddhism”
colloquium at the University of Oxford, sponsored by the Physiology Department
and the Oriental Institute of the University of Oxford, the Santa Barbara Institute
for Consciousness Studies, and the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, March,
2010
“Toward a Three-Dimensional Science of the Mind” at the Expert Meeting
“Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality II: Meditation: Neuroscientific
Approaches and Philosophical Implications” at Schloss Reinach in Munzingen,
Germany, sponsored by the Institut für Umweltmedizin und Krankenhaushygiene,
Freiburg, February, 2010

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“Buddhism and Science: Confrontation and Collaboration,” “Buddhism and Clinical
Psychology,” and “The Shamatha Project” at the Scuola Superiore S. Anna, in La
Normale University, Pisa, Italy, September, 2009
“Cultivating Emotional Balance,” a meditation seminar sponsored by the Dalai Lama
Center for Ethics and Transformative Values, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, September, 2009
“The Shamatha Project: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind” sponsored by the
Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, September, 2009
“What is the Mind A Buddhist View” sponsored by the Departamento de Filosofía y
Ética, DHCS, Titular de la Cátedra de Investigación en Ciencia y Cultura,
Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico, August, 2009
“Buddhism and Mind Sciences: Confrontation and Collaboration,” the keynote address
presented at the conference “International Conference on Buddhism and Mind
Sciences: Ancient Wisdom and Modern Knowledge” organized by the College of
Religious Studies, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakornpathom, Bangkok, cosponsored
by the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, August, 2009
“Teaching Genuine Happiness in Modern Education.” The University of Porto Alegre,
Brazil, June, 2009
“Healing the Mind: Where Meditation and Neuroscience Converge.” The University of
São Paulo, Brazil, June, 2009
“Principles of a Contemplative Science of the Mind.” Albert Albert Einstein Instituto
Israelita de Ensino e Pesquisa, São Paulo, Brazil, June, 2009
“The Conscious Universe: Where Buddhism and Science Converge.” University of Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, June, 2009
“Advancing the Legacy of William James: The Radically Empirical Study of the Mind”
at the conference on Computation and Neural Systems. California Institute of
Technology, March, 2009
“The Buddhist Contribution to First-Person Cognitive Science” at the Mind and Life
conference “Attention, Memory and the Mind: A Synergy of Psychological,
Neuroscientific and Contemplative Perspectives,” Dharamsala, India, April, 2009
“Buddhism and Science: Confrontation and Collaboration” Keynote lecture presented at
the International Conference on Buddhism and Science, Central University of
Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, Varanasi, India, January, 2009

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“A Buddhist View of Mental Resilience” in a panel dialogue on “Mental Resilience in
Times of Crisis,” chaired by Prof. Kua Ee Heok, National University of Singapore,
December, 2008
“A Buddhist Paradigm for Human Flourishing,” the keynote address presented at the
conference “International Conference on Buddhism in the Age of Consumerism”
organized by the College of Religious Studies, Mahidol University, Salaya,
Nakornpathom, Bangkok, December 2008
“The Scientific Study of Mindfulness in Relation to Mental Balance” and “Neuroscience
and Clinical Studies: The Scientific Perspective on Mindfulness,” presented at the
conference “Caring for Ourselves (While We’re Busy Caring for Others): A
Program on Mindfulness and Stress Reduction For Professionals Involved in
Conflict Resolution, hosted by The Multnomah Bar Association in conjunction
with the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program, Portland, Oregon, October, 2008
“Neuroscience of Buddhist Contemplative Practices” Keynote lecture at the conference
“Neuroscience and Contemplative Practices: Transforming the Embodied Mind” at
Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, California, October, 2008:
Seminar “Cultivating Attention and Mindfulness for the Development of Enhanced
Mental Health and Balance,” presented at the University of Milan, Italy, June, 2008
“The Shamatha Project: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind,” “The Conscious
Universe: Where Buddhism and Physics Converge,” and “The Question of Free
Will: A Buddhist Perspective” at the Scuola Superiore S. Anna, in La Normale
University, Pisa, Italy, June, 2008
“A Buddhist Science of the Mind,” “Balancing the Heart and Mind: A Buddhist View,”
“A Buddhist View of Free Will: Beyond Determinism and Indeterminism,” and
“Three Dimensions of Consciousness: A Buddhist Phenomenology of the Mind,”
presented in the Buddhism Seminar, Philosophy Department, University of New
Mexico, New Mexico, June, 2008
“The Pursuit of Meaning in the Age of Science and Religions,” presented at Amherst
College, Amherst, Massachusetts, April, 2008
“The Conscious Universe: Where Buddhism and Physics Converge,” sponsored by the
Committee for the Study of Science and Religion, University of Wisconsin-Eau
Claire, April, 2008
“Advancing the Legacy of William James: The Radically Empirical Study of the Mind,”
sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Transformative Values, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), April, 2008

16
“Advancing the Legacy of William James: The Radically Empirical Study of the Mind”
at Hartwick College, New York, April, 2008
“A Buddhist View of Free Will: Beyond Determinism and Indeterminism,” presented at
Neuroscience of Free Will Symposium, Columbia University, New York, March,
2008
Respondent to Prof. Harold Roth’s Hsuan Hua Memorial Lecture “Against Cognitive
Imperialism,” presented at Pacific School of Religion, Graduate Theological Union,
Berkeley, California, March, 2008
“Principles of a Contemplative Science of the Mind,” sponsored by the Psychiatry and
Spirituality Forum, University of California, Irvine, January, 2008
“The Encounter between Buddhism and Science” and “Buddhist Views of Mental Wellbeing,”
presented at the conference “Buddhism & Science” in the College of
Religious Studies, Mahidol University, Bangkok, August, 2007
“Buddhism in the West,” presented at Zanabazar University, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia,
July, 2007
“Principles of a Contemplative Science,” presented in the Mind/Supermind lecture
series, Santa Barbara City College, January, 2007
Panel discussant on “Interpreting Quantum Mechanics: Buddhist and Christian
Perspectives,” with Charles H. Townes and William R. Stoeger, sponsored by the
Science, Technology, and Religion Group of the American Academy of Religion,
Washington D.C., November, 2006
“Contemplative Science,” presented at the conference on “Understanding Mind Inside
and Out: Bridging Buddhism and Modern Science,” sponsored by the
Program in Science and Society, the Emory-Tibet Partnership, Emory
Contemplative Initiative, Office of the Dean of the College and the Religion
Department, Emory University, October, 2006
Discussant at the conference “William James Revisited The Importance of William
James for Buddhism and Science,” Leiden Institute for the Study of Religions at
Leiden University, September, 2006
Plenary speaker at the meeting “Meditation: Does It Work” sponsored by the Center for
Science and Worldview at the University of Tilburg, The Netherlands, September,
2006
“Observing the Mind: A Buddhist Approach to Exploring Consciousness,” a plenary
Experiential Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society at St Anne’s
College, Oxford, September, 2006

17
“Observing the Mind: A Buddhist Approach to Exploring Consciousness, presented at
the “Science, Mind and Buddhism” Seminar, with H. H. the Dalai Lama, in
Santiago, Chile, The University of Valparaiso and the University of Chile, May,
2006
“Toward the First Revolution in the Mind Sciences,” presented at Zentrum für
Neurowissenschaft, Zürich, Switzerland, June, 2006
“Unmasking Idols in Religion and Science” and “Dependent Origination in Buddhism
and Science,” presented at the Scuola Superiore S. Anna, in La Normale University,
Pisa, Italy, April, 2006
“Toward a Science of Contemplative Practice: Issues, Findings, and Experiential
Training in Meditative Quiescence,” co-presented with Dr. Clifford Saron at the
“Toward a Science of Consciousness” conference, University of Arizona, Tucson,
April, 2006
“Naturalizing the Mind Sciences,” a keynote lecture at the conference on
“Mind & Reality: A Multidisciplinary Symposium on Consciousness,”
Center for the Study of Science and Religion, Columbia University, February 2006
“From Cognitive Science to a Science of Consciousness,” sponsored by Religion
Department, Psychology Department, and Asian Studies Department, Colorado
College, January, 2006
“Beyond Idolatry: Where Science and Spirituality Converge,” Georgetown University,
Washington DC, November, 2005
“Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-being,” presented at the conference on “Gross National
Happiness: Bhutan’s Unique Approach to Social and Economic Progress,”
University of California, Berkeley, co-sponsored by Swissnex, Annex of the
Consulate General of Switzerland, January, 2006
“The Buddhist Science of Meditation,” presented at the conference “Mind and Life XIII,
Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC, November, 2005
“A Buddhist View of Craving and Choice,” presented at the conference with His
Holiness the Dalai Lama on “Craving, Suffering, and Choice: Spiritual and
Scientific Explorations of Human Experience,” Stanford University, November,
2005
“The Buddhist Investigation of Consciousness,” presented at the “Symposium on the
East-West Encounter: Eastern and Western Perspectives on Consciousness,
Spirituality, Healing, and World Peace,” presented at the Asian American
Cultural Center, Rutgers University, October, 2005

18
“Paths to Genuine Happiness,” presented at Rio de Janeiro’s State University, Brazil,
June, 2005
“Choosing Reality: A Buddhist View of the Mind and Nature,” presented at the Institute
of Physics, sponsored by the Department of Theology, Pontifical Catholic
University of São Paulo, Brazil, June, 2005
“A Buddhist View of Optimal Mental Health,” the inaugural lecture in the series
“Exploring the Mind: Buddhist and Scientific Approaches to Mental Health and
Healing,” Department and Centre for the Study of Religion and the Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, April, 2005
“Observing the Mind: A Buddhist Approach to Exploring Consciousness,” at the First
Annual Brown University Mary Interlandi ’05 Memorial Lecture on Contemplative
Studies, Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life, Brown University, April,
2005
“Meta-cognition in Real Time and As Short-term Memory,” presented at the Center for
Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, March, 2005
“Principles of a Buddhist Science of Mind,” University of Virginia Department of
Religious Studies and the Tibetan Himalayan Digital Library, January, 2005
“Cognitive Science Dialogue: Consciousness East and West,” a debate with John Searle,
Cognitive Science Program, Northwestern University, January, 2005
“Three Dimensions of Consciousness: A Buddhist Phenomenology of the Mind,”
presented at the conference on “From Autopoiesis to Neurophenomenology: A
Tribute to Francisco Varela,” Amphithéâtre Richelieu, Université Panthéon-
Sorbonne, Paris, June, 2004
“Meta-cognition in Real Time and As Short-term Memory” and “Objectivity and
Cognitive Invariance: A Buddhist View,” presented at the conference on “Science
et subjectivité,” CREA CNRS/École Polytechnique, Paris, June, 2004
“First-, Second-, and Third-Person Perspectives in the Study of the Mind: Where
Buddhism and Science Meet,” Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, La Normale
University, Pisa, June, 2004
“A Buddhist Model of Mental Health,” Department of Psychology and the Center for
Cognitive Science, University and Polytechnic of Torino, Italy June, 2004
“The Impact of Buddhism on Western Science and Philosophy,” presented at the
congress on “Buddhism in Belgium, Buddhism in the West,” University of

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Louvain, Belgium, November, 2003
“A Buddhist Ideal of Mental Health: Balancing Attention, Emotions and Cognition,”
presented at the 2nd International Conference on Traditional Tibetan medicine,
Washington D.C., November, 2003
“Outer, Inner, and Nondual Space,” presented at the conference on “Space in Mind: at the
Interface of Inner and Outer Space,” at King Alfred's College, Winchester, April,
2003
“Vacuum States of Consciousness: A Tibetan Buddhist View,” presented at the 5th
Biennial International Symposium of Science, Technics and Aesthetics: “Space,
Time and Beyond,” Lucerne, Switzerland, January, 2003
“Why the West Has No Science of Consciousness: A Buddhist View,” presented at the
conference on “Indic Contributions to a Global Renaissance,” Columbia University
Institute of Buddhist Studies, July, 2002
“A Science of Consciousness: Buddhism (1) the Modern West (2),” presented at the
conference on “Wisdom, Compassion, and Consciousness: Buddhist Practice and
Cognitive Science.” Sponsored by the Institute of Buddhist Studies and the Center
for Theology and the Natural Sciences, Berkeley, California, May, 2002
“The Intersubjective Worlds of Science and Religion,” presented as part of the lecture
series on “Science, Religion, and the Human Experience,” University of California,
Santa Barbara. Sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation, June, 2001
“Vacuum States of Consciousness: A Tibetan Buddhist View,” presented at the
conference on “Nothing in Common: Scientific and Contemplative Views on
Nothing,” University of California, Santa Barbara, May, 2001
“Cosmology in Science, a Buddhist Reflection,” presented at the conference on “Religion
and Its New Challenges,” Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California, April,
2001
“The Humoral Theory and Models of Optimal Physical and Mental Health in Traditional
Tibetan Medicine,” University of Virginia School of Medicine, October, 2000
“A Reassessment of the Status of Buddhism as a Non-theistic Religion,” Center for South
Asian Studies, University of Virginia, October, 2000
“Vital Energies and Healing: Ancient and Modern Perspectives,” presented at the 3rd
Annual University of California, Santa Barbara Conference on Global Medicine,
entitled “The Influence of Mind on Healing and Dying,” May, 2000

20
“The Retinal Blind Spot in the Scientific Vision of Our Origins,” presented in the Veritas
Forum Lecture Series entitled “Our Journey: Origins and Destinations,” University
of California, Santa Barbara, May, 2000
“The Refinement and Epistemic Uses of Mental Perception in Tibetan Buddhism,” a
plenary lecture presented at the conference “Toward a Science of Consciousness:
Tucson 2000, sponsored by the Center for Consciousness Studies, the University of
Arizona, April, 2000
“First-, Second-, and Third-person Methods for Studying Consciousness,”
Department of East Asian Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, February,
2000
“The Encounter between Tibetan Buddhism and Modern Science,” presented at the
symposium on “Representing Tibet,” University of Colorado, Boulder. Sponsored
by the Center for Humanities and the Arts, Center for Asian Studies, and the School
of Law, January, 2000
“Is Buddhism Really Non-theistic” Presented at the National Conference of the
American Academy of Religion, Boston, Mass., November, 1999
“The Buddhist Pursuit of Spiritual Awakening and the Scientific Pursuit of Objective
Knowledge,” presented at the conference on “Globalizing Philosophy: Comparing
Eastern and Western Approaches to the Central Metaphysical Issues of Philosophy
and Science,” Department of Religion, Columbia University, April, 1999
“Monastic Education in Traditional Tibet,” presented at the conference on “Life in
Traditional Tibet,” University of California, Santa Barbara, January, 1999
“Tibetan Medicine in the Context of Tibetan Buddhism,” presented at the First
International Congress on Tibetan Medicine, George Washington University
Medical Center, Washington DC, November, 1998
“Training the attention and exploring consciousness in Tibetan Buddhism” presented at
the conference on “Toward a Science of Consciousness,” University of Arizona,
April, 1998
“A Madhyamaka Critique of the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics,” presented at the
conference “The Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics,” Philosophy Department,
Rutgers University, April, 1998
“Buddhism and Modern Science,” a guest lecture, University of California, Los Angeles,
Extension, March, 1998
“A Madhyamaka View of the Foundations of Modern Physics,” presented at the

21
conference on “Physics and Tibetan Buddhism: Dialogues between Physicists and
Buddhist Scholars,” University of California, Santa Barbara, January, 1998
“Psychological Maturation and Spiritual Awakening in Tibetan Buddhism,” presented at
the National Conference of the American Academy of Religion, San Francisco,
California, November 1997
“Buddhist Mind Control,” Psychology Department, Stanford University, January 1997
“The Dialectic between Contemplative Knowledge and Religious Belief in Tibetan
Buddhism,” presented at the National Conference of the American Academy of
Religion, New Orleans, Louisiana, November, 1996
“The Science of Logic in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Education” presented at the Third
University of California, Santa Barbara Conference on Tibetan Buddhism, Santa
Barbara, California, November, 1996
“Logic and Debate in Tibetan Buddhist Culture,” presented at the “Model of Education
Conference,” John E. Fetzer Institute, Kalamazoo, Michigan, July, 1996
“Attentional training, introspection, and the investigation of consciousness in Tibetan
Buddhism,” presented at Center for the Study of Language and Information,
Stanford University, March, 1996
“The Place of Consciousness in Religion and Science,” presented at the conference
“Chaos, Calculus, and Comparative World Views” at Evergreen State College,
Olympia, Washington, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, August,
1995
“The Tibetan Cultivation of Shamatha (Meditative Quiescence) and the Nature of
Consciousness,” presented at the Second University of California Conference on
Tibetan Buddhism: “The Nature of Mind in Tibetan Buddhism” Department of
Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, May, 1995
“The Contemplative Use of Introspection in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism,” presented at the
Annual Meeting of the Western Region of the American Academy of Religion,
University of Redlands, California, March, 1995
“What is Meditation” Presented at Mind/Body Node of the MacArthur Foundation,
Chicago Headquarters, December, 1992
“Lucid Dreaming and Tibetan Buddhist Dream Yoga,” presented at the Evergreen
College, Olympia, April, 1992
“The Meditative Cultivation of Attentional Stability and Clarity,” presented at the

22
Psychiatry Department, University of California at Irvine, March, 1992
“Emptiness, Conceptual Schemas and the Practice of Vajrayāna,” presented at the
Religious Studies Department, University of California at Santa Barbara,
December, 1991
“Tibetan Buddhist Perspectives on Relative and Ultimate Truths” and “Buddhism in the
World of Science,” presented at the Religion Department, Willamette University,
Salem, September, 1991
“From Cognitive Science to a Science of Consciousness,” presented at the conference on
“Renewal of Thinking in Science and Technology,” Mt. Holyoke College,
Massachusetts, sponsored by Laurence Rockefeller, June, 1991
“Methods and Applications of Enhancing Focused Attentional Duration,” presented at the
Psychiatry Department, Stanford University School of Medicine, June, 1991
“Contemplative Ways of Knowing in Tibetan Buddhism” and “Tibetan Culture in the
Modern World,” presented at the Religious Studies Department, Reed College,
Portland, April, 1991
“A Tibetan Buddhist View of Modern Science,” presented at the Department of Physics
and Astronomy, Colgate University, October, 1986
ORGANIZING AND CHAIRING ACADEMIC CONFERENCES
Co-organizer of “The 3 rd World Conference on Buddhism and Science,” College of
Religious Studies, Mahidol University, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakornpathom,
Bangkok, Dec. 2010
Co-organizer of the “Science and Buddhism” colloquium at the University of Oxford,
sponsored by the Physiology Department and the Oriental Institute of the University
of Oxford, the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, and the Oxford
Centre for Buddhist Studies, March, 2010
Co-organizer of the “International Conference on Buddhism and Mind Sciences: Ancient
Wisdom and Modern Knowledge,” College of Religious Studies, Mahidol
University, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakornpathom, Bangkok, August, 2009
Principal Organizer of the Mind and Life Institute conference with H. H. the Dalai Lama,
“Attention, Memory and the Mind: A Synergy of Psychological, Neuroscientific
and Contemplative Perspectives,” Dharamsala, India, April, 2009
Co-organizer of “The International Conference on Buddhism in the Age of
Consumerism,” College of Religious Studies, Mahidol University, Salaya Campus,

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Nakhorn Pathom, Thailand, December, 2008
Co-organizer of the conference “Awakening Within the Dream: A View of the Illusory
Nature of Reality Buddhist and Scientific Perspective,” La Salle Medical
University, Mexico City, August, 2008
Co-organizer of the conference “Death and Dying: Buddhist and Scientific Perspectives,”
La Salle Medical University, Mexico City, August, 2007
Co-organizer of “The International Conference on ‘Buddhism and Science’ in
Celebration of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Eightieth Birthday,”
College of Religious Studies, Mahidol University, Salaya Campus, Nakhorn
Pathom, Thailand, August, 2007
Co-organizer of the conference on “Craving, Suffering, and Choice: Spiritual and
Scientific Explorations of Human Experience” with H. H. the Dalai Lama,
sponsored by the Stanford University School of Medicine, November, 2005
Co-chaired the panel, with Princeton neuroscientist Jonathan Cohen, on “Attention and
Cognitive Control” at the conference Mind & Life XI: Investigating the Mind:
Exchanges Between Buddhism and the Biobehavioral Sciences on How the Mind
Works, co-sponsored by the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Sept.
13-14, 2003
Organizer of the conference on “Nothing in Common: Scientific and Contemplative
Views on Nothing,” sponsored by the Infinity Foundation and the Department of
Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, May, 2001
Organizer of the conference on “Religion and Science” lecture series, Department of
Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, Winter & Spring, 1999
Organizer of the conference on “Life in Traditional Tibet” conference, Department of
Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, January, 1999
Organizer of the conference on “Physics and Tibetan Buddhism” conference, Department
of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, January, 1998
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Undergraduate Courses
“The Culture and Religions of Tibet,” Department of Religious Studies, University of
California, Santa Barbara
“The Life and Thought of the XIV Dalai Lama,” Department of Religious Studies,

24
University of California, Santa Barbara
“The Pursuit of Individual Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism,” Department of Religious
Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
“The Bodhisattva Ideal in Tibetan Buddhism,” Department of Religious
Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
“Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying in Tibetan Buddhism,” Department of Religious
Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
“Religion and Healing in Global Perspective (co-taught with Professor Catherine
Albanese), Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa
Barbara
“The Contemplative Life (co-taught with Professor Richard Hecht),” Department of
Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
“Religion, Science, and the Problem of Consciousness,” Department of Religious
Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
“First-Year Tibetan Language,” Department of Religious Studies, University of
California, Santa Barbara
“Intermediate Spoken and Written Tibetan,” Department of Religious Studies, University
of California, Santa Barbara
“Advanced Tibetan,” Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa
Barbara
Graduate Seminars
“Seminar on Theories and Methods in the Study of Tibetan Buddhism,” Department of
Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
“Seminar on Religion and Science,” Department of Religious Studies, University of
California, Santa Barbara
“Seminar on Buddhist Epistemology,” Department of Religious Studies, University of
California, Santa Barbara
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
Asian Languages

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Classical Tibetan: complete fluency
Spoken Tibetan: complete fluency
Sanskrit: 2 years
European Languages
German: 7 years
French: 1 year
FIELD RESEARCH ON TIBETAN BUDDHISM IN ASIA
2004 – September: Research in tantric yogic practices in Amdo and Kham regions of
Tibet
1997 – Summer: Research in Tibetan Buddhist monasticism in western China and central
Tibet
1996 – Research in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism in India, Nepal, and Tibet
1992 – Summer: Research in Tibetan Buddhism in western China and central Tibet
1980-1981 - Research in the Buddhist Theravāda contemplative traditions in India and
Sri Lanka
1977-1979 – Research in Buddhist philosophy in the Center for Higher Tibetan Studies,
Mt. Pèlerin, Switzerland
1975-1977 - Research in Buddhist philosophy in Tibet Institute, Rikon, Switzerland
1973-1974 – Research in Buddhist monastic debate in Buddhist School of Dialectics,
Dharamsala, India
1971-1973 – Research in the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, India
PUBLIC ACTIVITIES
Public Services
Chairman – Phuket International Academy Mind Centre, 2009 – present
Member of the Advisory Board for the World Happiness Forum, Sydney, Australia, 2007
– present

26
Member of the Advisory Board for InnerKids Foundation, URL: www.innerkids.org,
2004 - present
Member of the Senior Advisory Council for the Garrison Institute’s Initiative on
Contemplative Education, 2009 – present
Interpreting from Tibetan
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama at the Mind and Life conference “Attention,
Memory and the Mind: A Synergy of Psychological, Neuroscientific and
Contemplative Perspectives,” Dharamsala, India, April 6 – 10, 2009
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama at the Mind and Life conference “Neuroplasticity,”
Dharamsala, India, October 18 - October 22, 2004
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama at t the Mind and Life conference “The Nature of
Matter, the Nature of Life,” Dharamsala, India, September 30 - October 4, 2002
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama at the Mind and Life conference “Transformations of
Mind, Brain and Emotion: Neurobiological and Bio-Behavioral Research on
Meditation” at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, May 21-22, 2001
Interpreter and consultant for an NBC Dateline one-hour program on Tibetan medical
treatment for metastatic breast cancer that aired January 1, 2001
Interpreter and co-organizer of the conference on “Destructive Emotions” with H. H.
the Dalai Lama and Western cognitive scientists and philosophers in Dharamsala,
March 20-24, 2000
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama for his lecture “The Relevance of Tibetan Medicine
Today” presented at the First International Congress on Tibetan Medicine,
sponsored by George Washington University Medical Center, in Washington DC,
November 7, 1998
Discussant and co-interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama at the International Symposium
on Epistemological Questions in Quantum Physics and Eastern Contemplative
Sciences. Sponsored by the Institut für Experimentalphysik, University of
Innsbruck, June 15- 22, 1998
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama at the conference “Mind and Life VI: Physics and
Buddhism,” Dharamsala, India, Nov. 1997
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama at conference on “Buddhism and Academia,”
Stanford University, 1994
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama at the conference “Mind and Life IV: Sleeping,

27
Dreaming, and Dying,” Dharamsala, India, 1992
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama at the conference “Mind and Life III: Healing
Emotions,” Dharamsala, India, 1990
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama at the conference “Mind and Life II:
Transformations of Consciousness,” Newport Beach, California, 1989
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama at “Mind and Life I: Dialogues Between Buddhism
and the Cognitive Sciences,” Dharamsala, India, 1987
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama, “Inner Sciences Conference,” Amherst College,
1984
Interpreter for H. H. the Dalai Lama, European tour, 1979
Interpreter for Tibetan Buddhist scholars and contemplatives throughout Europe and
North America, 1975 – present
Public Lectures
“A Critical View of Mindfulness Meditation in Clinical Practice,” Maudsley Hospital,
London, December, 2009
“The attention revolution – unlocking the power of the focused mind,” “The mechanics
of learning - attention, memory and plasticity” and “Ethics as a foundation for
mental wellbeing.” Presented at the conference “Mind and Its Potential,” Sydney,
Australia, December, 2009
“A Buddhist View of Dreaming and Awakening,” presented at the conference
“Awakening Within the Dream: Buddhist and Scientific Perspectives on the
Illusory Nature of Reality,” La Salle Medical University, Mexico City, August,
2008
“Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind,” Sydney, Australia, May, 2008
“The Role of Consciousness in the Natural World: A Buddhist View.” Presented at the
seminar “Buddhism, Mind, and Matter,” Rochester, April 26, 2008
“The Conscious Universe: Where Buddhism and Physics Converge,”
Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, Santa Barbara, California,
January, 2008
“The Shamatha Project: Unlocking the Power of the focused Mind,”
Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies, Santa Barbara, California,
December, 2007

28
“Dependent Origination in Buddhism and Science,” Jefferson Tibetan Society,
Charlottesville, December, 2007
“A Buddhist View of Death and Dying,” presented at the conference on “Death and
Dying: Buddhist and Scientific Perspectives,” La Salle Medical University, Mexico
City, August, 2007
“The Four Immeasurables,” Jefferson Tibetan Society, Charlottesville, , December, 2006
“Dependent Origination in Buddhism and Science, Jefferson Tibetan Society,
Charlottesville, December, 2006
“Toward the First Revolution in the Mind Sciences,” Google Headquarters, Mountain
View, California, August, 2006
Three lecture-series: “Choosing Reality: Physics, Meditation, and Buddhism,”
“Meditation Practice,” and “Ethics, Science, and Meditation,” presented at the
Brazilian Conference of Meditation, Curitiba, June, 2005
“A Buddhist View of Optimal Mental Health,” University of Virginia School of
Medicine, January, 2005
“Scientific and Buddhist Views of Energy” and “A Buddhist View of Optimal Mental
Health,” Casa Tibet México, Mexico City, January 31-February 1, 2005
“Buddhism and Physics,” Dehra Dun, India, December, 2005
“The Role of Attentional Balance in Mental Health,” Neuropsychiatric Institute at the
University of California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, January, 2004
Discussant at “The Way of Peace” conference with H.H. the Dalai Lama and Fr.
Lawrence Freeman on scripture and imagery in Buddhism and Christianity, Prato,
Italy, May, 1999
Public Lecturer on Tibetan Buddhism, Santa Barbara, California, 1997-present
Public Lecturer on Tibetan Buddhism in Switzerland, Germany, England, France, and
Italy, 1976-1979
Public Interviews
”Is the Dalia Lama an Atheist” on “Skeptiko: Science at the Tipping Point,” February,
2009: http://skeptiko.com/index.phpid=74

29
”Unwavering Samadhi: Meditative Achievement and Its Impact in the World”
interviewed for Podcast “Buddhist Geeks, March 17, 2008:
http://www.fallingfruit.tv/episodes/unwavering-samadhi-meditative-achievementand-its-impact-world
“A Mindful Balance: Interview with B. Alan Wallace.” In Tricycle: The Buddhist
Review, Spring, 2008: 60-63, 109-111
Interviewed for “The Tibet Connection: The English-Language Radio News
Magazine About Tibet,” July 27, 2007:
http://www.thetibetconnection.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/tc0707-3.mp3
“Buddhismus im Labortest.” Interview published in “Die Zeit,”
March 15, 2007, Nr. 12: http://www.zeit.de/2007/12/Meditation-Interview pdf:
http://hermes.zeit.de/pdf/archiv/2007/12/Meditation-Interview.pdf
“On Contemplative Science,” interviewed for Podcast “Buddhist Geeks:”
http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2007/01/29/buddhist-geeks-4-get-a-phd-in-
10 contemplative-science/
“On Achieving Shamatha,” interviewed for Podcast “Buddhist Geeks:
http://www.buddhistgeeks.com/2007/01/15/buddhist-geeks-2-alan-wallace-onachieving-shamatha/
Interviewed for “The Skeptics Corner:”
http://www.theskepticsguide.org/skepticsguide/podcastinfo.asppid=73
“Happiness—A Science of the Mind.” Interviewed by Paula Gordon and Bill Russell,
“The Paula Gordon Show: Conversations with People at the Leading Edge,”
November 26, 2006: http://www.paulagordon.com/shows/awallace/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paula-gordon/. See also “Be Happy, Start a
Revolution,” by Paula Gordon. In The Huffington Post, Nov. 29, 2006:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paula-gordon/be-happy-start-arevolut_b_35127.html
“Buddha on the Brain,” interviewed by Steve Paulson, November 27, 2006:
http://www.salon.com/books/int/2006/11/27/wallace/. See also:
http://souljerky.com/
Interviewed with MIT neuroscientist Christopher Moore on “The Leonard Lopate Show,”
New York Public Radio, April 28, 2006:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2006/04/28
“Mindfulness: The Heart of Buddhist Meditation A Conversation with Jan Chozen Bays,

30
Joseph Goldstein, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Alan Wallace.” For Inquiring Mind: A
Semiannual Journal of the Vipassana Community, Vol. 22, No. 2, Spring 2006: 4-7,
28-29
Interviewed by Rob M. Hogendoorn at Columbia University, February 26, 2006:
http://mindandreality.org/interviews.html#BAlanWallace
“Interview with Alan Wallace” by Sarah Lionheart. In Yoga & Health, February 2005: 9-
10: http://www.lionhearts.boltblue.com/Interview_with_Alan_Wallace
_May_2004_Glasgow. Pdf
“Altruism: What Science Can Learn from Buddhism.” For Science & Theology News,
December 2004: 11
“Scientific Mind, Buddhist Mind.” For Inquiring Mind: A Semiannual Journal of the
Vipassana Community, Vol. 20, No. 2, Spring 2004: 22-25
“Tibetan Buddhism in the West: Is It Working” For Tricycle: The Buddhist Review,
Summer 2001: 54-63